How to improve your cooking skills at home

Many Brits used lockdown as an opportunity to learn new skills. Some embarked on a journey of getting fit, some took up coding and some learnt to cook. From banana bread and biscuits to recreating our favourite takeaways, the sudden interest in becoming the next Jamie Oliver or Nigella Lawson blew up on the internet, with TikTok becoming the fountain of knowledge for aspiring home cooks.

From experimenting with new recipes to acquiring the right tools, there are plenty of ways to improve your cooking skills. Whether you’re the designated cook at home or a complete novice, you can learn plenty in your own kitchen, as long as you’ve got the time and patience to commit to it. Here, we outline some tips for improving your cooking skills at home.

Play around with new recipes

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when you just stick with what you know. Try getting out of your comfort zone by trying new recipes regularly. You’ll learn new techniques and have the chance to try different ingredients from what you’re used to. For example, if you regularly cook Italian food and then try out some Thai recipes, you’ll use completely different herbs, spices, and sauces, which will help advance your cooking skills.

Practise as much as you can

The old adage, practise makes perfect is true. The more you work on your cooking skills the better a cook you’ll become. Think about the areas you want to improve on and focus on recipes which incorporate those skills. For example, if you want to get better at chocolate design work, practise your chocolate tempering skills.

Sometimes you will make mistakes and things won’t always go to plan. Try to see any mishaps as a learning experience, rather than a failure. With more practise you’ll get a better idea of what to do next time to prevent mistakes and over time both your skills and confidence will soar.

Get your hands on the best tools

While having good skills and culinary knowledge will have an impact on the result of your cooking, if you don’t have the best equipment, you may find your dish doesn’t turn out as well as you’d hoped. Old, worn equipment doesn’t create optimal results and may make it easier to burn your food or cause it to stick to the pan. A new set of Circulon pans will help you to cook to your full potential and improve your cooking in general.

Get experimental

Don’t be afraid to experiment with your cooking. For most dishes, recipes can be used as a guide, rather than a rulebook. Playing around with different flavours, methods and techniques will help you to improve your knowledge of cooking as well as your practical skills. For example, after making scones a few times, you’ll understand the fundamental ingredients and feel more confident about mixing in different additions or swapping one ingredient for another.